English entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson shared the sad news of the death of his wife, Joan, aged 80.
In a post on his social media pages, Richard wrote: “Heartbroken to share that Joan, my wife and partner for 50 years, has passed away. She was the most wonderful mum and grandmum our kids and grandkids could have ever wished for. She was my best friend, my rock, my guiding light, my world. Love you forever, Joan x”
Richard did not initially share the cause of Joan’s passing. However, a few days after the news, Richard shared another statement, where he revealed that she passed away “quickly and painlessly”:
“Holly, Sam and I are all together now, doing our best to smile through the tears and to focus on all the good things Joan brought into our world. There are so many.
Fate has a strange way of working. As many already know, I’d come off my bike in India and hurt my shoulder. Joan was recovering from her own back injury in hospital in England. In the way life sometimes surprises you, I found myself moved to a room just down the corridor from her. We laughed together about how typical it was of us to end up on the same floor, like love-struck teenagers delighted to find each other again.
We had a lovely lunch that day. She was in positive spirits and getting stronger. She smiled at me, that radiant smile that lit up her whole face, the same smile I fell in love with the very first moment I saw her, half a century ago. Then suddenly, she was gone, quickly and painlessly. And thankfully, I was right by her side. It brings us all great comfort to know we were together.
What an incredible final year we all had together. Her beautiful 80th birthday celebration at Kasbah Tamadot in Morocco, surrounded by her closest friends; Sam’s 40th celebrations onboard Virgin Voyages; countless moments where she was beaming with happiness. She lived so fully and joyfully, always thinking of others, always lifting everyone else up. To see her so happy in those last months is something we will treasure forever.
Life will never be the same without her. But we have fifty incredible years of memories – years filled with tears and laughter, kindness, and a love that shaped our family more than words could ever capture. It was a relationship that worked. We just had lots of laughs. We were very lucky.
We are devastated she is gone. But I am far more grateful for the extraordinary gift of the life we shared – with our remarkable kids, Sam and Holly, and our wonderful grandkids, who adored her (and her sweets!) just as deeply as I did.
Joan was my everything, the shining star around which our family’s universe has always orbited. That light is not gone; it’s just taken on a new shape. It will guide us forward. And we will carry her with us, always.”
The couple married in 1989 on Necker Island in the Caribbean, an island owned by the English businessman. Together they had three children, Holly, Sam, and a third child, Clare Sarah, who sadly passed away four days after her birth.
“Thank you for all that you were to me, our family and to everyone who was blessed by your graceful, loving presence. I am so deeply grateful to have had the privilege of being your son and being able to call you mum,” said Sam about his mother in a post. “You were the kindest, most loving, warm and abundantly generous woman to walk this Earth.”
Holly Branson, Chief Purpose and Vision Officer at Virgin and chair of Virgin Unite, writes a blog for the business. In a personal blog post, she shared the history of her family and the love story between her parents.
“My mum, born Joan Templeman, was raised in the centre of Glasgow, Scotland, worked in a pawnbroker’s shop, and, later, at a London bric-a-brac store on the Portobello Road. It was there that my dad first fell in love with her and, without putting too fine a point on it, essentially stalked her. He turned up at the shop every day for months, buying stuff he didn’t want or need. The rest, as they say, is history.”
Notable Australians took to the comments to sympathise with Richard and his family.
Australian-British singer-songwriter, Natalie Imbruglia, wrote, “I’m so sorry Richard… Heartbroken… Joan.. a shining light in this world. She made everyone feel so special. Sending so much love to you all at this difficult time.”
Australian chef and restaurateur Luke Mangan also lent his sympathies: “So sorry to hear, always gracious with a great sense of humour, my thoughts are with you all.”
Sir Richard Branson was knighted for his “services to entrepreneurship” in March 2000. His career started with a mail-order record business in 1970, which was the precursor to Virgin Records (first the store, then the music label). However, Virgin then expanded into travel spaces in the 90s before becoming the massive conglomerate it is today.
